Author: OurCrowd

You are what you wear: Wearable Tech from the Startup Nation

You are what you wear: Wearable Tech from the Startup Nation

May 12, 2014 |

“You are what you eat,” goes the age old saying. “You are what you wear,” would be the modern adaption of this well known proverb. From “smart” watches that sync to your phone, to contact lenses that measure diabetics glucose levels, wearable technology is rapidly spreading to all facets of technology. Today, May 12th, 2014 marks Israel’s first wearable technology conference in Tel Aviv. Israeli technology leaders and wearable tech pioneers such as Robert Scoble, Steven Manna and Jonathan Medved will be present for what should be a memorable event. Here is an outline of the recent success and traction experienced in the wearable technology industry that has entrepreneurs and investors alike excited for what should be “the next big thing.” Headlines and Exits Major media outlets announced on Wednesday, March 26th that Facebook had reached a $2 billion agreement to acquire Oculus VR, the maker of a virtual reality headset. The purchase indicated that Facebook intends to enter the arena of competitors trying to give users a live 3-D experience through wearable technology: “Imagine enjoying court side seats at a game, studying...

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Crowdfunding, the Statue of Liberty and the Future of Finance

Crowdfunding, the Statue of Liberty and the Future of Finance

Mar 24, 2014 | , ,

Crowdfunding is booming. The industry has come a long way since the first crowdfunding projects surfaced a few years ago. Going forward, crowdfunding is likely to take on many forms, expand globally and become the preferred model for investment. Given the recent surge in its activity and popularity, here is a quick beginner’s guide discussing the origins and different types of crowdfunding platforms available for investment today. What Is Crowdfunding? Crowdfunding is the pooling of resources to create or maintain an initiative from a large number of backers—the “crowd.” Projects supported through crowdfunding, usually online by means of a web platform, can range from nonprofit or charity organizations, political campaigns, creative projects (i.e.- supporting an artist, gallery, director, film etc.) or a financing campaign to fund a startup company. The Oxford dictionary definition for crowdfunding reads: [Noun] The practice of funding a project or venture by raising many small amounts of money from a large number of people, typically via the Internet. History of Crowdfunding Crowdfunding has a long and rich history with roots going back hundreds of years. Crowdfunding originates in the concept of crowdsourcing,...

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3 Due Diligence Lessons the Small Investor Can Learn from the “Big Guys”

3 Due Diligence Lessons the Small Investor Can Learn from the “Big Guys”

Feb 20, 2014 |

This guest post was written by Rafi Musher, founder and CEO of global strategy consulting firm Stax Inc. and its business-incubator affiliate Stax Development Corporation (DevCorp). He is also founder of Israel and Co., a non-profit that brings current and future business leaders to Israel to get a firsthand, working knowledge of Israeli innovation. When backing a startup, early-stage or fast-growth company, you certainly want to get smart about the capabilities of the management team and general trends in the industry. Once you have that nailed, it’s time to talk tachles, or practical details in Modern Hebrew. At Stax, due diligence is our bread and butter. In 20 years of helping corporations and private equity firms—including more than a dozen of the top 25 LBO firms in the world—make significant investment decisions, we’ve seen that the most important element for commercial due diligence is getting to the the customer. Lesson #1: Is The Company Solving A Real Problem? What is the need this product or service is trying to address? If you’re looking at a technology company, which is...

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The 3 Most Common Crowdfunding Concerns (Part 2): “It’s Too Complicated & I Don’t Have Enough Time!”

The 3 Most Common Crowdfunding Concerns (Part 2): “It’s Too Complicated & I Don’t Have Enough Time!”

Feb 20, 2014 | ,

Today, OurCrowd is featuring Part 2 of a special 3-part series from Matt and Wayne, the founders of Crowdability Crowdability provides individual investors with independent research and education on equity crowdfunding. With their free service, they aim to simplify the process of discovering and evaluating crowdfunding opportunities. In this series that they’ve created especially for OurCrowd, Crowdability will address investors’ 3 most common concerns about Equity Crowdfunding. ——————————————————————— In Part 1 of this Series, we addressed a concern about whether equity crowdfunding makes sense for ordinary people who aren’t intending to invest millions. Today we’ll address another common concern – namely, that early-stage investing is too difficult, or takes too much time. These are valid questions.  Early-stage investing certainly isn’t easy… For one thing, since the companies raising funds are private, they’re not obligated to disclose details of their operations or financial results.  Gathering this critical information can be challenging and time-consuming, and interpreting it can be even harder. That said, there are many ways to make the process faster and easier… Let’s look at three of them now....

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The 3 Most Common Crowdfunding Concerns (Part 1): “I Don’t Have Millions to Invest”

The 3 Most Common Crowdfunding Concerns (Part 1): “I Don’t Have Millions to Invest”

Jan 28, 2014 | ,

Today, OurCrowd is featuring Part 1 of a special 3-part series from Matt and Wayne, the founders of www.Crowdability.com.  Crowdability provides individual investors with independent research and education on equity crowdfunding. With their free service, they aim to simplify the process of discovering and evaluating crowdfunding opportunities. In this series that they’ve created especially for OurCrowd, Crowdability will address investors’ 3 most common concerns about Equity Crowdfunding.  ——————————————————————— “Dear Matt and Wayne: Does investing in equity crowdfunding deals make sense for me? I’m not a professional investor, and I’m not planning to invest millions into start-ups.” Several times a week, our subscribers ask us variations of this same question.  Since it’s such a common concern, we thought we’d dig into it today. Let’s start with the simple answer: Yes, it does make sense – even if you’re not a “professional” investor, and regardless of how much you intend to invest. You see, equity crowdfunding was specifically designed to help small companies raise small rounds of financing, ideally in small amounts from many investors. The fact is, you can dip your toe in the water for less...

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